Five baht: ancient Chinese currency. In view of the serious consequences of the chaos of the currency system and the Wu-Chu rebellion caused by the out-of-control coinage, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty carried out six currency system reforms during his reign, which finally solved the currency problem that had been unresolved since the early Han Dynasty. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, three baht coins were issued in the first year of Emperor Wu's founding (140 BC), which was as important as its text. This was a measure to restore the nominal value of copper coinage to its legal weight. However, since the three-baht coins were used at the same value as the four-baht half-liang coins, counterfeiting became popular. Therefore, in the spring of the fifth year of Jianyuan, "three-baht coins were scrapped and half-liang coins were used instead." In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty re-cast three baht coins and made leather coins and platinum (silver) coins. He also issued a death sentence for those who steal money. The fourth reform of the currency system began in the fifth year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (118 BC). This reform is only to "abolish the three-baht coin and recast the five-baht coin." There are certain regulations on the shape of five baht coins, and the Qianwen "five baht" has been used since then. The five-baht coin was of moderate weight, in line with the ancient socio-economic development and price level requirements for monetary units. Therefore, it was used in the Western Han, Eastern Han, Shu, Wei, Jin, Southern Qi, Liang, Chen, Northern Wei and Sui after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The casting lasted for 739 years. It is the longevity coin with the largest number of castings, the longest time and the most success in the history of our country. The five-baht coins in the Western Han Dynasty include the five-baht coins of the prefectures, the five-baht coins of Chiping, the five-baht coins of Emperor Wu, the five-baht coins of Emperor Zhao, the five-baht coins of Emperor Xuan, and the five-baht coins made after Emperor Yuan arrived in the Western Han Dynasty. There are also small five-baht coins, also called "chicken coins". "Five baht", according to research, it is estimated to be a ghost coin used for burials. Adverse Effects On the eve of the birth of the five-baht coin, the market was in chaos because the half-liang coin was on the verge of collapse. Governments at all levels competed with business people for profit, and they all tried their best to mint money, which caused excessive inflation, a sharp decline in the purchasing power of the currency, and soaring prices. Unable to survive, the people gave up production one after another, went into exile, and relied on selling their labor to make ends meet; or they took desperate risks and joined the ranks of illicit miners in an attempt to make huge profits. In the early years of Emperor Wu, nearly 10,000 people died due to private casting, and the number of people who died in private fights and those who committed suicide out of fear of crime was incalculable, which shows that the problem was very serious. The five-baht coins were issued in the fifth year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He ordered all counties and counties to cast five-baht coins, which were called the county-state five-baht coins and also called the Yuanshou five-baht coins. The inscription on Qian is "five baht", small seal script, bare back, with a wheel and no guo on the front, and both wheels and guo on the back. The money is about 2.5 centimeters in diameter and weighs about 3.5-4 grams. The cross strokes of the character "五" are straight or curved; the "Zhu" head of the character "铢" is in a square fold shape, and the head of the "金" character is smaller, like an arrowhead. A few coins have a horizontal stroke on them. Its material was changed to red copper, so it was called cyanotic money. However, the technical level of different places is different, and the composition of copper mines is different. It is difficult for officials to understand the orders and the attitude of following them. Therefore, the coins produced vary greatly. Some are like the old Han Dynasty half liang, with flat backs and no wheels. Some have large perforations and thin flesh, while others have thick flesh. Generally speaking, there is a phenomenon of cutting corners and cutting corners to not weigh more than five baht, and the lighter they are made, the later they are cast, the worse they are, and the mistakes of half-liang and three-baht coins are likely to be repeated. The main purpose of the government to re-coin the five-baht coin is to establish credibility and stabilize the financial system, so that private minters will be unprofitable and give up illegal activities on their own, so as to completely solve the problem of private minting. Officials in various counties and states, because old habits are hard to change, still work together to enrich their own pockets. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the suggestions of his ministers, and in the second year of Yuanding (115 BC), he took back the minting rights of each county, and the central government unified the minting and currency issuance, thereby preventing another proliferation of evil coins. Three Officials and Five Baht After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took back the right to mint coins, the central government of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty unified the minting of coins. It was at this time that the three-guan and five-baht coins were minted. The money is exquisitely made, with neat edges, accurate weight, and beautiful money writing. It is a model among coins. The three officials refer to Zhong Guan, Bian Tong, and Jun Shu (skills), all of which refer to the government agencies that mint money. In order to promote the uniform transfer method, the central government established a new official, Duwei of Shui Yamen, who worked in Shanglinyuan, Chang'an. Shanglin Garden is a government institution that mints money. It is a royal garden expanded in the early Han Dynasty on the basis of the original Qin Dynasty garden. It is large in scale, with 70 palaces, and a surrounding area of ??more than 300 miles, including today's Xi'an, Zhouzhi and Hu Thirty-one years after the county issued the five baht, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty died. During this period, large amounts of money were minted and the paradigm of money changed. For example, there are differences in the size of the text and the structure of calligraphy. As for the upper half-moon, the lower half-star, the upper-lower horizontal, the star-moon script, the four-point script, etc., they may be signs of different furnaces.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, during the period of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty (86 BC - 74 BC), everything was cautious and conservative. External wars were basically over. Domestic production was encouraged, and the economic situation was better than that in the last years of Emperor Wu. The size of Emperor Zhao's five baht is the same as that of Emperor Wu's three-guan five-baht, but its weight is lighter than the three-guan-five baht, and generally slightly heavier than that of Emperor Xuan's five-baht. From the calligraphy point of view, the character "五" in Qian Wen has changed a lot. Generally, the shape of the character is long and thin. The crossing strokes on both sides of the character "五" have become curved. The ends of the two strands have obvious convergence. Some of the upper and lower horizontal parts are longer and connected to the outside; " The character "Zhu" in the character "铢" has a square shape at the beginning and a triangle shape next to the character "金", which is obviously lower than the character "Zhu". The outer surface of the face is taller and narrower, but slightly lower than the five baht of the county and the five baht of the three officials. There is a horizontal mark on it or a half-star mark on it. The copper color is deep red, and the casting technology is slightly rougher than that of Sanguan Qian. During the period of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, following Emperor Zhao, Emperor Xuan reigned for twenty-four years (73 BC - 49 BC). The officials governed in the Qingming Dynasty, the world was peaceful, the country was peaceful and the people were peaceful, and things were prosperous. This was the golden period of the Western Han Dynasty. At the same time, international trade was also very developed, which was also the highest peak of the Western Han Dynasty. Therefore, money was minted every year, issued quickly, and quickly returned to the treasury. In the last years of Emperor Xuan's reign, there were more than eight billion yuan in the treasury. Emperor Xuan's five baht was cast during the reign of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. The copper quality, shape, calligraphy and casting of the coin have all reached perfection. Qian's writing is straight and straight, giving people a sense of elegance and elegance. The cross strokes of the character "五" are curved, and the up and down horizontal strokes extend beyond the end of the cross strokes. The "gold" head of the character "铢" is mostly in the shape of an isosceles triangle and is lower than the character "Zhu". Another feature is that the outer shell of the coin slopes from outside to inside. There are two types of money: 2.5 and 2.6 centimeters in diameter. The most common ones are 1.5 millimeters thick, 10 millimeters wide, weigh about 3.5 grams, and are about 1.5-2 millimeters thick on the outside. Among the five baht in the Han Dynasty, this kind of money has the widest range. Its shape is neat, the meat surface is smooth, the inside and outside of the money are slightly higher than the meat, and the thickness is consistent. Emperor Xuan's coins were famous for their neatness and honesty, and they had a very high status among the coins of the Western Han Dynasty. Introduction to Xiaowu Baht Xiaowu Baht was first cast in about the fourth year of Yuanding (113 BC), the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. It is commonly known as "chicken eye money" and "goose eye money" because of its small shape. Among the unearthed coins of the Western Han Dynasty, there are small five-baht coins recorded in Han Dynasty documents. This kind of money and money models came from tombs or sites in the Western Han Dynasty. Among them, the one unearthed from the No. 1 burial pit of Duling, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, has an exact date. An example of. The small five baht of the Ming coin has the inscription "five baht" on the face. It is exquisitely cast, with Zhou Guo on the face and no good Guo. The back and side have good meat, both Zhou and Guo are present, and the writing is clear. The diameter of the money is between 1.15-1.2 cm and the weight is about 0.62-0.65 grams. The style of Qian's writings is also different from that of Emperor Wu, Emperor Zhao and Emperor Xuan. Some of the "five" characters are straight, some are slightly curved, and some are very curved. Some have horizontal drawings on them, such as the three-guan money style, and some are like the most common type of five baht without Guo on the face. This shows that the small five-baht was not minted in one dynasty. Like the ordinary five-baht, it was minted in various periods of the Western Han Dynasty after Emperor Wu. Judging from the unearthed situation, especially the unearthed situation from the burial pit of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, small five bahts were randomly placed in clusters among ten large pottery figurines, indicating that this was money for ghosts rather than money for official use. Edit this paragraph Purpose of the five-baht shearing wheel The five-baht coin shearing the wheel is also known as "Mo Guo Wu Baht" and "Jian Guo Wu Baht". When Emperor Wu first minted five baht, he "Zhou Guo Qi" to prevent traitors from grinding the copper from the back of the money to melt it. However, in the late Western Han Dynasty, another type of shear-wheel five-baht appeared, which was a kind of coin that was made of ordinary five-baht coins and was polished to reduce its weight. In fact, this kind of five baht is most appropriately called the edged five baht. In the late Western Han Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Cheng and Emperor Ai, social conflicts were acute, disasters and famines occurred one after another, and the currency system was also chaotic. The shearing wheel five baht began to appear at this time. The five-baht shearing wheel is a product of the chaotic era of currency system. It has been unearthed in Shaogou, Luoyang and Western Han Dynasty tombs excavated in the west of Luoyang. Unearthed in 1980, a gold five-baht coin was discovered under Tuyuan, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. The coin has a diameter of 2.6 centimeters, a thickness of 0.2 millimeters, and a weight of 9 grams. There are kuos on the front and back. The outer kuo on the front is slightly wider than the back. The face is square and the upper part is square. There are horizontal paintings. The two characters "五铢" are neatly written in Yangzhuan. The intersection of the "五" characters is curved, and the upper and lower horizontal lines are longer. The "Zhu" prefix of the "铢" character is squarely folded, and the "Gold" prefix is ??triangular. It is exquisitely made and has a bright color. Golden yellow, truly a rare treasure. However, the gold five-baht coins are not circulated as currency, but are only used as rewards and funerary items. In addition, there are also five-baht coins made of special materials such as silver and jade. The later five-baht coin was the "Yongping five-baht" coin. The "Yong'an five-baht" was cast in the second year of Yong'an (529) by Emperor Xiaozhuang; the "Datong five-baht" was cast in the sixth year of Datong (540) by Emperor Wen of the Western Wei Dynasty, with a similar shape. "Yong'an Five Baht". In the early period of Xiaoliang Dynasty, the "Big Sample Five Baht" was cast; in the fourth year of Tianbao Emperor Wenxuan of the Northern Qi Dynasty (553), the "Changping Five Baht" was cast.
In 581, after the unification of the Sui Dynasty, another "Kaihuang Five Baht" was minted, ending more than a hundred years of currency chaos. The five baht was abolished. In the fourth year of Tang Wude (621), "Kaiyuan Tongbao coin" was cast, and the five baht coin was abolished. The five-baht coin has been in circulation for more than 700 years. It is the coin with the largest number of mints and the longest circulation time in Chinese history. Five baht rubbings. "Records of Oriental Knowledge" records:
Tools: Paper (cicada wings or other very thin materials are also acceptable). Ink (all kinds of ink can be too thick, you can add water, solid ink can also be used). Tufting bag (take a piece of sponge according to the size of the tucking to be done, roll it into a round shape and wrap it with household plastic wrap, then wrap it with a piece of flour cloth and finally wrap it with a very fine silk cloth, wrap it with a rubber band to adjust the tightness of the tucking bag) ). Water (about the size of a bean to prevent the ink from smearing, a few drops of glue to increase the adhesion of the ink, 250 grams of water, 30 grams of Yushouxiao to prevent fiber shrinkage and deformation of the paper after long-term storage, stir evenly and place a piece of raw material on the water to filter it function, using water seeping from the paper surface). Brown brush (for pressing and rubbing paper). Pressing plate (paper clips and plastic plates twisted into different diameters). Backing board (to prevent the movement of coins and the action and reaction forces. A soft rubber pad or a book will work). Preparation of ruler (pressing paper) and brush (soaked in water): 1. Place a small piece of raw Xuan on the backing board and wet the coins and put it on it without moving it. Use a brush to dip an appropriate amount of water into the paper and draw it on the coin. Choose a piece of paper of suitable size, which should be even and free of impurities, and cover it on the coin. Press the platen up. [1] 3. Cover the rubbing paper with raw rice paper to absorb the excess water, then cover the rubbing paper with raw rice paper and use a brown brush to press gently from the center of the coin outwards. Finally, cover the coin with plastic wrap and then Beat (the effect is that the plastic wrap is thinner and the words can be marked more clearly). At this time, press the ballast ruler to fix it. Why not press the ballast ruler at the beginning because the rubbing paper will be straightened by pressing it at the beginning. It will be easily broken by hitting it with a brown brush. 4. Put the ink into the inkstone and do not put it too thickly. Use the rubbing bag to dip it evenly. Use the rubbing bag to hammer the rubbing paper to suck out the excess ink. This depends on whether the rubbing paper is dry enough to turn slightly white (a rubbing (the key step), use a rubbing bag to gently hammer the money outward from the inside to make it clear and the ink color should be light and even (the first pass is the most critical). You can then apply ink multiple times until you are satisfied, but in the end you must ink the coin's inner ring again so that the outline is clear and three-dimensional. ?